Browse Items: 72

Caller, Earl Johnston, a member of the first CALLERLAB Board of Governors. Johnston was from Vernon, CT, and was a disciple of Al Brundage. This footage was taken by Bill Cross on October 1, 1989, at the party hosted by Jim and JoAnn Mayo to celebrate Jim's 40th anniversary as a square dance caller. It's a fine example of good timing in modern…

Recorded in 1990 by Bob Dalsemer at Lovely Lane Church, Baltimore. The caller is Larry Edelman. Musicians are John Herrmann, Dirk Powell, Dave Grant and Greg Hooven. Larry thinks he learned the dance from Pittsburgh caller Dolores Heagy around the time this footage was filmed. She in turn calls the dance Dip 'n' Dive Around the Square.

This is an excerpt from "Monday Night Fever," a Minneapolis community television program produced in 1986 by Bruce Davis, who provides the narration. The film is an introduction to the Monday night square dance that began in the Twin Cities in 1979 and has been running--with a few interruptions and changes of venue--ever since. In this segment,…

This is an excerpt from "Monday Night Fever," a Minneapolis community television program produced in 1986 by Bruce Davis, who provides the narration. The film is an introduction to the Monday night square dance that began in the Twin Cities in 1979 and has been running--with a few interruptions and changes of venue--ever since. In this segment,…

Dancers from Bible Grove in Scotland County, MO at the Bethel Fiddle Convention, Bethel, MO. June 1989. Fiddling by Chirps Smith and Charlie Walden. Others in the band are Forrest Rose on bass, Dennis Buckhannon and Dave Copeland on guitars and Emily Buckhannon on piano. The actual dancing begins at 3:45 in the first clip.

This is the first in a series of videos posted from a 1989 program of singing squares presented by caller Debbie Gray and the Deb-U-Tones (vocals by Alice La Pierre and Julia Huestis). Musicians are Jack O'Connor, banjo; Mary Lea, fiddle; and Peter Barnes, piano. The venue is the First Congregational Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Larry Jennings…

In this article, part of his long-running column, the author looks at the typical programs of Western square dancing in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He discusses the different kinds of patter, mentioned the predominance of singing calls at this time, and looks in depth at Rickey Holden's "Star By the Right."

This is a video clip taken from a promotional video made by Earl Johnston for the Manchester, CT Square Dance Club. Earl was their club caller and the video was made for public television in 1988. In this clip Earl is showing how a new couple can be introduced quickly to modern square dancing. The clip also illustrates a choreographic difference…

Folklorist Eliot Singer presented a paper—"How to Start Figuring Out What "Michigan Fiddle Style" Is"—at a Michigan Historical Society meeting in 1988. In it, he references Michigan fiddler Les Raber's comments that Michigan fiddle music is dance music. This website presents his original remarks and a 2012 introduction with further thoughts.

Two audio clips illustrating Frank Lane's style. The first is a hash call recorded live at Hoedown Hall, Mantua, NJ on May 16, 1960. In it, Lane introduces a new call, Wheel and Deal, written "three or four months ago" by his friend, Clarence Watson. This tip is presented in its entirety. The second example, a shorter excerpt, comes from a 1980…

Interview with Connecticut square dance caller Irving Andert, conducted by Paul Trowbridge, July 9, 1983, recorded in the Brooklyn (CT) Grange. At that time, Andert had been calling 52 years, starting when he was 13 years old. He describes some of the early callers who influenced him, and talks about calling at a major square…

In this version of the traditional Cut Off Six / Divide the Ring figure, the active couple turns the others as they stand in a line. Larry Edleman demonstrates this in more detail on the related item.Recorded at a square dance on April 25, 1987 at the Prosperity Fire Hall, Washington County, PA.Jerry Goodwin, CallerMountain Express: Chuck…